Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Nick Martin

Posted: 04/6/2015 8:48 PM | Comments: | Last Modified: 04/7/2015 11:52 AM | Updates

Winnipeg police are investigating the likelihood a massive blaze Monday at a vacant building on Hargave Street was deliberately set.

The four-storey building at 44 Hargrave, which stood for 105 years, went up in flames about 6:45 p.m.

There were no injuries.

Today, police gave a damage estimate of $1,000,000.

Witnesses told police several youth were seen fleeing the area. The suspects are described as three girls and two boys, all about 14 to 15 years old.

Members of the Winnipeg Police Service arson unit continue to investigate. Anyone with further information that may assist investigators is asked to call 204-986-6813 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

Firefighters were able to save the apartment building at 42 Hargrave to the immediate south, although it was damaged Monday night. The residents there were quickly evacuated just in case.

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Vacant downtown apartment building destroyed

Crane Removal at Woodmont Triangle Apartment Building Construction site
Removing a large crane on the weekend of March 28-29 in downtown Bethesda, MD.

By: Andrew Metcalf - Bethesda Magazine

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Crane Removal at Woodmont Triangle Apartment Building Construction site - Video

HARTFORD The long-troubled, four-story brick apartment building that anchored the corner of Main and High streets for more than a century came tumbling down Friday, a day after it was weakened by a fire police say was set accidentally by a squatter.

As crews from Environmental Services Inc. of South Windsor razed the structure, people stopped by to watch the workers, reminisce about the building and speculate about what might replace it.

"I think it's horrible that one person could cause such destruction," said Sheri Garrett, who once lived nearby. "It's very sad, but at the same time it's an eyesore. It needs to come down."

"My father fought several fires in this building about 60 years ago," said Jack Dooley of Newington, who admitted he stopped by to gawk at the demolition.

A man who rode his bicycle over to watch the demolition said he had lived in the building about 15 years ago. The man, who identified himself only as Frank, said when he was there the building was full of tenants and had shops and a popular club on the ground floor.

"It was good. It was full," he said. "It was a nice building."

The building's owner, Eric Dornevil of Watertown, Mass., bought it in June 2003 through a city tax sale. He paid $125,000.

Since 2003, tax and utility liens have been placed on the property, which is listed in city land record as 1359-1363 Main St. The city also assessed $88,000 in fines in December after Dornevil failed to address blight issues at the property, according to land records and court filings. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

Francheska Dornevil is listed as the owner of the adjoining structure, 1355-1357 Main St., which was not razed Friday. There are tax and other liens on that property, too.

The fire caused extensive damage to the building, including a partial collapse in the rear, city officials said. Unable to reach Dornevil after the fire, city officials hired Environmental Services to take the building down.

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Demolition Of Burned-Out Hartford Building Draws A Crowd

View Larger Legacy of neglect landlord project See More

In a four-part series, The Dispatch examines neglected properties and neglectful owners. See stories, video and more.

The owner of a crime-plagued apartment building in Franklinton that the city boarded up last week plans to improve security there and reopen.

The buildings owner, Interstate Construction of Grove City, has no plans to sell, said the companys attorney, Erica Probst.

She said the companys president, Dwight Douglas Kincaid, has owned the 17-unit building at 398-404 S. Central Ave. for 30 years but didnt know about the claims in the citys complaint, including drug use and drug dealing.

Probst said the issues that led to the city shutting down the building came about in recent months.

Dispatch special report: Legacy of Neglect

City prosecutors and the owner agreed last week to remove the residents and close the building until Franklin County Environmental Judge Dan Hawkins hears the citys request for a permanent injunction on June 15.

We agreed to the property shutdown so my client could investigate the allegations and make sure the tenants were safe and secure, Probst said.

She said Kincaid will work over several months to see how he can boost security, including hiring a guard and installing cameras, hiring a new property-management company and possibly starting a neighborhood watch.

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Owner of boarded-up Franklinton apartment building promises to improve security

K.C. Kappen and Rachel Ballard believe that renting a place to live "simply makes sense," given their current situation.

Kappen, 26, a junior account executive for social media and public relations with the Brownstein Group in Philadelphia, arrived here with Ballard, 25, from Southern California in June.

Ballard will finish graduate school in the next 18 months, Kappen said, "and I'm in the beginning stages of my professional career." Renting "gives us a chance to weigh our options and see what areas of Philadelphia we prefer."

Thousands of other millennials have come to the same decision, for a variety of financial reasons, so rental apartments continue to fill a growing housing need in the Philadelphia region.

And that boom has given a shot in the arm to the regional economy, $14 billion in 2013 alone. For the United States as a whole, the economic contribution was $1.3 trillion.

A study by George Mason University's Stephen S. Fuller for the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association showed that 544,300 people, or 9 percent of the Philadelphia area's population, live in its 321,200 rental apartment units.

Thirty-four percent of those apartments are in buildings of 50 or more units, Fuller said.

While single-family-home building still lags, multifamily rental construction accounted for 49 percent of building permits issued in the region in 2013, valued at nearly $367 million, he said.

Spencer Yablon, senior vice president for capital markets/multifamily at CBRE Group in Wayne, said apartment fundamentals remain good and support "near-term growth."

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Millennials help build a Phila.-region apartment boom

HARTFORD A squatter who police say accidentally set fire to a vacant four-story building at Main Street and Albany Avenue Thursday morning was ordered held on $100,000 bail after his arraignment on charges of reckless burning and criminal trespass.

Kenneth Onalty, 46, had been living in the building for several months and on Thursday set some papers on fire to keep warm, according to a statement he gave to police. He insisted, however, that he extinguished the fire, the statement said.

Firefighters were called to 1363 Main St. about 3:45 a.m. and when they arrived had to rescue Onalty from the building's second floor. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation, and later charged.

The fire heavily damaged the building, forced police to close surrounding streets through the evening rush hourand also closed Capital Preparatory Magnet School, which is across Main Street from the building. Students could not reach the school because the street was shut down.

City spokeswoman Hilda Muoz said Thursday afternoon that the city hired Environmental Services Inc. of South Windsor to demolish the building. Crews set up fencing around the site and planned to remove a billboard atop the building Thursday night. The building is scheduled to be demolished Friday, she said.

The 1890s brick building is part of a block of existing structures the city hopes will be renovated now that development in the nearby Downtown North area is underway. Downtown North, on the edge of downtown, will feature a minor league baseball stadium, apartments, a supermarket and a brewery. Construction on the stadium began in February.

During his arraignment Thursday afternoon in Superior Court, Onalty became angry about the bail set in his case, discussions about his mental health and the reckless-burning charge filed against him.

"Excuse me your honor, there's nothing wrong with my mental health," Onalty said. He insisted that he had nothing to do with the fire, which he said began on the building's third floor, not the second floor where he was staying.

"I'm here for trespassing, that's it," he said.

When Judge Joan K. Alexander set bail at $100,000, Onalty became even more angry and yelled and swore. Marshals escorted him out of the courtroom, and an unfazed Alexander ordered that Onalty undergo a competency evaluation.

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Squatter Charged In Fire That Destroyed Hartford Building

HARTFORD A squatter who police say accidentally set fire to a vacant four-story building at Main Street and Albany Avenue Thursday morning was ordered held on $100,000 bail after his arraignment on charges of reckless burning and criminal trespass.

Kenneth Onalty, 46, had been living in the building for several months and on Thursday set some papers on fire to keep warm, according to a statement he gave to police. He insisted, however, that he extinguished the fire, the statement said.

Firefighters were called to 1363 Main St. about 3:45 a.m. and when they arrived had to rescue Onalty from the building's second floor. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation, and later charged.

The fire heavily damaged the building, forced police to close surrounding streets through the evening rush hourand also closed Capital Preparatory Magnet School, which is across Main Street from the building. Students could not reach the school because the street was shut down.

City spokeswoman Hilda Muoz said Thursday afternoon that the city hired Environmental Services Inc. of South Windsor to demolish the building. Crews set up fencing around the site and planned to remove a billboard atop the building Thursday night. The building is scheduled to be demolished Friday, she said.

The 1890s brick building is part of a block of existing structures the city hopes will be renovated now that development in the nearby Downtown North area is underway. Downtown North, on the edge of downtown, will feature a minor league baseball stadium, apartments, a supermarket and a brewery. Construction on the stadium began in February.

During his arraignment Thursday afternoon in Superior Court, Onalty became angry about the bail set in his case, discussions about his mental health and the reckless-burning charge filed against him.

"Excuse me your honor, there's nothing wrong with my mental health," Onalty said. He insisted that he had nothing to do with the fire, which he said began on the building's third floor, not the second floor where he was staying.

"I'm here for trespassing, that's it," he said.

When Judge Joan K. Alexander set bail at $100,000, Onalty became even more angry and yelled and swore. Marshals escorted him out of the courtroom, and an unfazed Alexander ordered that Onalty undergo a competency evaluation.

Continued here:
Squatter Charged In Fire That Destroyed Main Street Building

Jewel Samad | AFP | Getty Images

Construction laborers work on the top floor of a high rise apartment building in New York on March 31, 2015.

U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in February and the prior month's outlays were revised to show a steeper decline than previously estimated, which could see economists further mark down their first-quarter growth forecasts.

Construction spending dipped 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $967.2 billion, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. January's outlays were revised to show a 1.7 percent decline instead of the previously reported 1.1 percent drop.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending being flat in February.

Economic growth slowed markedly in the first quarter, held back by bad weather, a strong dollar, weaker overseas demand and a now-settled labor dispute at the country's busy West Coast ports.

Estimates for first-quarter gross domestic product range between a 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent annual pace. The economy expanded at a 2.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

Read MorePriced out: New housing froth discourages buyers

Construction spending in February was restrained by a 0.8 percent drop in public construction outlays.

Spending on federal government projects jumped 9 percent, but that was offset by a 1.6 percent plunge in state and local government outlays -the largest portion of the public sector segment.

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Feb construction joins US's bad data parade

The pumps have been turned off for the first time in four years at an upscale Uptown apartment building, meaning that the illegal pumping of millions of gallons of groundwater into nearby lakes will cease.

The pumps were turned off late Tuesday afternoon, meeting a deadline of that day set in a legal settlement reached several months ago, according to Charles Nauen, an attorney representing the city of Minneapolis.

The settlement was reached after the city and Park Board filed several suits to end the pumping. Developer Lake and Knox LLC was permitted initially to drain the site at 1800 W. Lake St. for construction. But it kept on pumping after construction ended because the lower of two basement garage floors was below the area's water table. A judge ruled in November ruled that violated city ordinances after the city sued.

Lake and Knox built the 57-unit luxury building in 2011. It consists of developers Nick Walton and Daniel Oberpriller, plus other unnamed investors. They still have financial claims pending against engineering firms that provided studies for the project. Pumps sucked about 90 million gallons per year of water into the nearby lagoon separating Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun, including an estimated 75 pounds per year of algae-feeding phosphorus.

Lara Norkus-Crampton, who opposed zoning variances granted the project and resigned from the planning commission in protest, praised former City Council member Meg Tuthill and park Commissioner Anita Tabb for doggedness in ending the pumping. She also said citizens sometimes have a false sense of security that the many jurisdictions responsible for water quality are monitoring such violations.

Council Member Lisa Goodman, who now represents the area, said in an e-mail: "Its good to see that the developer is abiding by the consent decree after years of pumping water into the lake. Im happy to see this part of the larger issue resolved."

To comply with a settlement reached in December to cease pumping by Tuesday, the developers removed mechanical and electrical components from the lower parking level, filled it with sand and gravel, and then sealed it off from remaining basement parking. The firm said that careful fill-in work was crucial to ensuring the building remained stable. It estimated the work would cost $1.2 million, while new parking it plans next door is expected to cost $2 million.

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Pumps go off at luxury Uptown apartment

Leon Peirce (19) a building apprentice with Mark Fairweather Builder, works on a new house on Hagart Alexander Dr, Mosgiel. Photo by Linda Robertson.

Commenting on Statistics New Zealand's February's building consents figures, Ms Turner said the weakness in ex-apartment consents being issued was particularly concerning.

''As yet, we don't have a conclusive explanation for the current weakness. It could just possibly reflect some disruption in building demand from the summer holiday period.''

Alternatively, if construction activity was starting to trend sideways, it was possible capacity constraints were restricting further growth, she said.

Residential construction activity had increased rapidly over the past two years in Auckland and Canterbury and both regions were competing for construction resources.

Apartment consents were relatively high in both November and December and some decline from those levels was to be expected.

What was concerning was the second consecutive monthly fall in ex-apartment dwelling consents, down 1.4% in February following on from the previous month's 8% fall.

Those falls followed a couple of flat months, Ms Turner said.

Non-residential building consents bounced back in February as was usually the case given January consents were disrupted by the holiday period.

''The very lumpy profile of monthly non-residential building consents makes it a difficult series to seasonally adjust.''

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Building consents fall seen as concern